SPEAK NOW. HEAR US., is a panel founded by artist and activist AnnaLiisa Ariosa-Benston which works in collaboration with Superchief Gallery NY.

Each panel is free and open to the public, consists of 3-5 individuals, and lasting about two hours. Panelists come from various creative industries including, but not limited to, fine art, performance art, curation, fashion, the nonprofit sector, academia, arts administration, writing, and tech. Questions will center around personal experiences in their respective fields and changes they are part of or hope to see in the future. The last 15 minutes of each panel discussion will be open to questions from the audience.

We are very excited to announce our first panel will be co-curated with WTTF (Women To The Front) on May 25, from 7:30 - 9 PM. for the second iteration of their event at Superchief Gallery.

Aya Rodriguez-Izumi is an interdisciplinary artist whose work deals with ideas of social standards, rituals and cultural identity. Her work has been exhibited in group and solo shows at venues such as MoCADA, the Knockdown Center, El Museo del Barrio, AC Institute, Marcus Garvey Park, and Rush Arts Gallery. She was born in Okinawa, Japan and grew up between that island and East Harlem, NY, where she currently lives and holds a studio. She graduated from Parsons the New School for Design with a BFA in 2009, The School of Visuals arts with an MFA in 2017 and is a current fellow at A.I.R. Gallery.

Marilyn Narota combines art and psychology to create sculptures, participatory installations, and performance-based videos and events. She explores social norms surrounding femininity, multiculturalism, and immigration through the use of familiar materials and situations, often related to the domestic realm or the body, yet presented in unexpected ways. Narota was born in Colombia, immigrating to Jackson Heights in the early 90's, and currently resides in New York City. She completed a BA at Williams College, a Post Bacc at Maryland Institute College of Art, and an MFA at School of Visual Arts in 2016.Her work has been exhibited by Williams College, School of Visual Arts, Maryland Institute College of Art, Goucher College, Cloying Parlor, Smooth Muscle, Art Theory Project, Periphery Space, Project For Empty Space, The Hole, El Museo De Los Sures, and El Museo Del Barrio, among others. Narota was an artist-in-residence at the 2017 Grab Back: Feminist Incubator at Project for Empty Space in New Jersey. Her artwork is being published in the 2018 anthology of intersectional feminist poetry, Women of Eve's Garden, by A Gathering of The Tribes. She is also Founder and Director of collaborative creative initiatives such as the art and literary publication, Artilade Magazine, and the art and technology dyad, Kaur Studio.

SYNEAD

The New York-born artist & activist has built quite a buzz as the co-founder of Millions March NYC, a march of 50,000 people and one of the “most prominent anti-police brutality marches the city had ever seen.” Named as one of Teen Vogue's 17 Rising Stars Who Personify Black Excellence During Black History Month, Synead has been honored by the NAACP as a history maker in her crucial role in community organization.

AnnaLiisa Ariosa-Benston lives and works in Brooklyn, NY. She earned her MFA from SVA in Fine Arts prior to which she graduated with her BFA in Painting from Pratt Institute in 2014. She is a fine artist, curator and director who makes interactive installations that feature traditional artwork, wearable art objects, and typically live tattooing with a strong focus on feminism, inclusiveness, and social codification. Her ongoing project and installation, Famousonmars, lives primarily online through social media. AnnaLiisa has shown work at Miami Art Basel since 2013 and ar Satellite Art Show since 2016. In addition to showing with Satellite she will take on a new role with the fair as Partnership and Sponsorship Liaison in 2018. Her work has been seen in galleries such as The Hole, Kunsthalle Galapagos, Head Too Heavy, Gateway Projects, and The New Women's Space. Publications include Posture magazine, Arte Fuse, Lady Gunn magazine, Social Decay, Miami News, Artnet, Hyperallergic and Bushwick Daily.